


Ad Astra Per Aspera

by peacelovedope



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Narcissism, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21550990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacelovedope/pseuds/peacelovedope
Summary: After his mother is committed to Arkham Asylum, Arthur is sent to live with the Wayne family. Throughout weathering a massive public scandal and enduring the hatred of Thomas Wayne's family, he manages to find a friend in Thomas's errant son, Bruce.
Relationships: Arthur Fleck & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Ad Astra Per Aspera

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first work in a pretty long time, so read this with forgiving eyes!! Please leave a review to let me know what you think!!

“You ever seen anything like this?” Gary Lewis scratched his balding head and tried not to think too hard; he knew the answer, of course. His partner, John Shelton, was new to the force, barely twenty-five years old and soft. Shelton was already married with two kids, and the other officers had been reluctant thus far to bring him on anything more dangerous than a traffic stop. Tonight, though, they were short-staffed, and they needed every man they could get.

“Jesus Christ,” was all Shelton said. He’d said it a few times already. “Jesus Christ.”

The object Shelton was so disturbed by was a small, emaciated creature, bound by metal to the apartment radiator. A boy, Gary Lewis was told, although it was hard to tell. It looked barely human.

“Hey Lewis, you gonna get the kid out of those cuffs or just stare all day?” Gary Two called. Gary Lewis took a big deep breath to steel himself and approached the creature. It twitched and stirred a little as he got closer, and Gary Lewis had to remind himself – just a kid, just a kid. He knelt next to the creature and cautiously reached towards its bloody stick wrists. The creature jolted back and made a scary noise from deep in its throat, twisting so its blackened forehead could press against the radiator. 

“Jesus Christ,” Gary muttered, and very bravely grabbed it by the hair and yanked its head back. The creature nearly screeched, twisting violently, and he had to remind himself that it’s just bruises that make darkened splotches across its body, not some hellish mark. 

“Calm the fuck down,” he said, as confidently as he could muster. “Calm the fuck down, kid, I’m not gonna hurt ya.” The creature didn’t seem to really understand, but it slowed its thrashing, its eyes tight shut and its breathing fast and shallow. How strange, that a creature like that could breathe just like Gary Lewis.

“Hey Shelton, c’mere,” Gary called, feeling a pang of pity for the young man. He was so damn green. 

Shelton walked over moving slow and cautious, just like Gary Lewis had done. “What do you want me to do?” he asked. Gary Lewis was impressed by the steadiness of his voice and face, even if his hands were shaking. 

“Hold the kid,” Gary Lewis said. “It... he put his face on the radiator.”

“Jesus Christ,” Shelton said, but he sounded steadier this time. He knelt, ignoring the creature’s flinch, and took hold of its shoulder with one hand and its hair with the other. “Jesus Christ, that stinks.”

Gary Lewis gestured below the creature’s waist to its soiled adult diaper and Shelton gagged. “Jesus H. Christ,” he said. Gary Lewis nodded in agreement and grabbed the creature’s bloody stick wrists again. The skin was so torn and worn away there that it looked like it was wearing skin gloves.

“That’s... shit,” Shelton said, peering over his shoulder. “Je-sus Christ.”

“This is your first fieldwork, right?” Gary Lewis asked, trying to maneuver the creature’s hands out of the cuffs without hurting it. He gently pulled the cuffs away. “Let’s get it away from the radiator.”

Shelton gave him a funny look, but he helped drag it a few feet away and then it looked a little more human, curling in on itself on the hard floor. It was making a funny noise and it took Gary Lewis a minute to figure it out. When he did, he lurched back, the blood leaving his face and draining down and out his shoes.

The little fuck was laughing.


End file.
